Glowing Green Smoothie

A lot of us (ihhhmmm me included!) are looking for a refresh after the holidays. One of the easiest ways to do so is with a daily green smoothie. My kids ask me to make them smoothies based on the colors, and it’s hard to tell if they have a favorite. They really gulp them all down with pure satisfaction. So I vary the smoothies daily/weekly and use up any fruits and vegetables we have on hand. One of my favorites is this glowing green smoothie!

If you haven’t started drinking smoothies yet, this is a great beginner recipe! It includes almond milk, spinach, pineapple, avocado and chia seeds. Below I’ll show you how to make a green smoothie, even if you don’t have these exact ingredients.

How to make a green smoothie

Step 1: Figure out base ingredients you want to use. My recommendation is to start with a leafy green like spinach, kale, collard greens or lettuce. Lettuce is the most mild, while kale has the most pronounced flavor.

Then pick a liquid to use like almond milk, regular milk, water or even coconut water. Milk will give it more of a milkshake/smoothie consistency, while water will give it more of a juice consistency.

Finally pick a fruit to balance out the flavor of the leafy green. For a green smoothie, I recommend using pineapple, banana, mango, pear, kiwi, avocado, green apples, or any combination of these, or other yellow and green fruits. I love using frozen fruit when possible to get a smooth and creamy texture.

Those are the three essential ingredients for making a green smoothie. Then you can add more flavor, more sweetness, more texture, or more nutritional value with all kinds of added ingredients. This includes seeds, protein powders, natural sweeteners, nuts or nut butters, oils or spices.

Step 2: Put it all in a blender and blend until it’s smooth with no junks of leafy greens or fruits.

Step 3: Taste it! Here, you can decide if your green smoothie needs a sweetener, if it’s too thick or not cold enough or if it needs any extra ingredients. Some common adjustments I make are adding honey if the fruit wasn’t ripe enough, adding lemon to cut the bitterness of some greens, or adding cinnamon to give it a warm flavor.

Then make sure to drink this glowing green smoothie right after you blend it for the best consistency! It’s the worst when a smoothie settles in the fridge and separates into parts. But if that happens just shake it up or mix it before drinking. If you have any left over, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours only.

Glowing Green Smoothie Health Benefits

While all green smoothies are nutritional powerhouses and full of amazing benefits, this one is especially great for your skin, thanks to these three ingredients. These foods help to nourish your skin and give that healthy glow. So I love including these “skin foods” in my daily smoothie!

Spinach:  It has high levels of folate, which helps to maintain and repair DNA – great for renewing skin!

Avocado: It’s full of monounsaturated fatty acids, which are the good fats that help keep your skin moist and hydrated.

Almond Milk: Almonds are most often associated with skin care, and that’s because they’re loaded with vitamin E. If you use good almond milk that’s made mostly from almonds and water, you’re reaping the benefits of vitamin E. It’s great for repairing skin and defending against sun damage.

Tips to make green smoothies

• Blend the leafy greens with the liquid first. The purpose of this is to avoid having chunks of unblended vegetables or fruit while sipping the smoothie. And then add the fruits, chia seeds or any other boosters. If you have a high-speed strong blender like the Vitamix or Ninja, you can throw everything in the blender at once though.
• Freeze the fruits. This gives the smoothie an extra smooth and creamy consistency. Any time you have extra ripe fruit, it’s a great idea to freeze them in freezer-safe bags. That way they’re ready to go when you want a smoothie. It also gives an extra cold and creamy texture to the smoothie that you won’t get from adding ice cubes necessarily.
• Use ripe fruit. That’s the best way to avoid adding sugar. It’s nature’s natural raw sugar essentially, so make sure the fruit is ripe and you shouldn’t need to add any sweeteners to the smoothie. This way you’ll save on calories and carbs.

I love enjoying this glowing green smoothie at least once a week. It’s such a feel good smoothie recipe that tastes good and is good for my skin and body! I hope you start to incorporate more green smoothies into your morning routines or as a snack. They’re not only a great way to sneak in vegetables, but they help improve digestion (thank you fiber), increase your energy (thank you vitamin C) and give you a healthy glow (thank you folate and vitamin E).

Plus they’re just so easy and tasty!

4.5 from 16 votes

Print

Glowing Green Smoothie

Prep Time

5 mins

Total Time

5 mins

 

This Glowing Green Smoothie is a nutritional powerhouse filled with spinach, avocado, pineapple, chia seeds and almond milk for more energy, focus and glow!

Course: Beverages

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Almond Snack, breakfast, detox, glowing, green, healthy, smoothie, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 330 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond milk
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 cup pineapple chunks frozen
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Instructions

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender in the order of appearance.

2. Blend the ingredients in a high-speed blender for 2-3 minutes until you get a smooth and creamy texture.

3. Taste the smoothie, adding more almond milk if it is too thick or adding a sweetener of choice if it's not sweet enough for you.

4. Pour into a cup or mason jar. Add fresh fruit toppings for garnish, if desired. Enjoy cold immediately, or store in fridge for up to 24 hours.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight mason jar. It will stay fresh for up to 24 hours. But ideally, it's best to consume immediately after making

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.

• Instead of almond milk, you can use any other plant-based milk to keep this vegan, or use regular or 2% milk
• Other leafy greens work well in place of spinach. Some popular ones are kale, collard greens or romaine lettuce.
• To replace the pineapple, you can use one cup of any chopped fruit. To keep the bright green color, I recommend banana, mango, pear, kiwi or green apples.

Equipment: I make my smoothies in my Vitamix. It has a "smoothie" button so it does all the work for me until the ingredients are well blended.

Nutrition: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.  This information should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. The nutrition value is for two serving without any fruit toppings

Nutrition Facts

Glowing Green Smoothie

Amount Per Serving

Calories 330 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 437mg19%

Potassium 786mg22%

Carbohydrates 53g18%

Fiber 10g42%

Sugar 41g46%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 3030IU61%

Vitamin C 40.1mg49%

Calcium 494mg49%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.